Of the 300,000 children who have been recruited by armed groups, 40% are girls. And they are precisely those who find it more difficult to leave the battlefield and reintegrate into society. The use of children as soldiers in armed groups is a phenomenon that in Western countries seems inconceivable in the XXI century. The figure is around 300,000 children linked to armed groups, and especially alarming is the situation in which girls are, which is 40% of the total.
During conflicts, girls and adolescents are often used as sex slaves and cooks, as well as participating in battles with a weapon. The drama of the girls does not end there. When the minors leave the armed groups, they get pregnant, with babies, infected with diseases such as AIDS or physically injured. When they return to their homes, they are rejected by their people and their families, especially if they have been raped or return with children as a result of relations during their recruitment. Organizations like Alboan, Amnesty International, Save the Children and the Jesuit Refugee Service are fighting against this scourge. We must ask the UN and the European Union to guarantee the effectiveness of international measures aimed at eradicating this tragedy, such as sanctions against recruiters of children in countries in conflict. We ask the EU to appoint a special representative for the issue and the Spanish Government to promote and support the initiatives to end the recruitment. That the necessary funds be devoted to the implementation of prevention, disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration programs… The fight against the use of child soldiers is part of the political agendas and protocols signed by most of the However, some 300,000 children are still used in more than 20 countries, such as Uganda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Congo, Somalia, Nepal and Mozambique. In order for recovery programs to work in these regions, it is essential that these armed conflicts be abandoned.

“The degree of insecurity of children in Africa makes them silent victims.”
Let us fight to prevent more children being recruited in armed groups, losing their lives or being marked with irreparable psychological traumas.